First time poster. Finally put together the Tonefiend Fiendmaster kit I've had laying around. I put in a socket for the transistor like Joe does in the build instructions, but I had a helluva time doing it! The leads seem too long to leave straight, nor do they make physical contact with the solder pad. On the other hand, they're almost too short to bend, which is what I did. It took a flathead screwdriver and nearly ripped off the solder pad in the process. Is there a trick to putting these in?

No, the spacing was right. They fit through the holes. I was mainly wondering if you leave the leads sticking straight out or bend them onto the solder pads so that they're making physical contact. I know std procedure in PTP wiring is to get a solid physical connection first, then solder the pieces together. I don't have a lot of experience with thru-hole soldering. A YouTube tutorial might have just cleared it up for me, though. Seems leads sticking out is fine so long as the solder joint is sound. Is that correct?

okay I think I see what you mean a bit better. I don't think they are intended to be bent. I would just solder them flush to the board. I also would be very careful about applying too much force sideways (the concern would be ripping a pad off underneath).

I know std procedure in PTP wiring is to get a solid physical connection first, then solder the pieces together.

there is truth in that (as far as increase in physical robustness) but I'm not sure if you need to to that always(I've seen lots of solder joint that aren't bent over, tied, etc. and still seem to have been working for many years). Also, it can make a connection much harder to rework, so I think you should consider the specific situation before forming leads, wires, etc. in a way which is more secure mechanically but harder to take off (if you need to).

Finally you might want to make a mental note that the socket contacts can loosen from repeated insertion/removals and become a source of intermittent contact (which can drive you nuts until you figure it out). So if you do a lot of cap (or whatever) swapping this seems to be a possibility.